The political issues confronting New York City transit workers

After continuing negotiations for four and a half hours after the expiration of its old contract, Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100, representing 34,000 New York City bus and subway workers, declared on Friday morning that it had rejected what management described as its “final offer.”

Local 100 President Roger Toussaint announced that the union would strike two small private bus lines that are about to be taken over by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). He said that the local’s executive board had decided to delay a decision on a strike by the bulk of its membership employed directly by the MTA for four more days.

The MTA and the city administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg have threatened to retaliate against such a walkout with massive fines against the union as well as individual members, together with possible jailings of union officials and strikers. Because the two bus lines are still privately owned, their employees are not subject to New York state’s anti-labor Taylor Law, which bars strikes by public employees.

The private bus line strike would involve little more than 700 workers in Queens, who have been working without a contract for three years. It did not begin Friday as originally anticipated, however, as union officials at the two companies told their members to continue working, with any walkout likely postponed until Monday.

Anger among transit workers has been fueled by both the intransigent and provocative negotiating stance of the transit authority as well as the threats of draconian punishment should they dare to strike. The city has demanded individual fines of $25,000 a day against each individual striker, with these fines to be doubled for every additional day on the picket line.

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http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/dec2005/twu-d17.shtml